Ebay is preparing to expand the range of digital currencies it accepts and said that its payments unit PayPal may one day incorporate Bitcoin.“Digital currency is going to be a very powerful thing,” John Donahoe, eBay chief executive, said in an interview with the Financial Times.The ecommerce group, which has more than 124m active users, is initially focusing on incorporating reward points from retailers’ loyalty schemes into its PayPal wallet.“We are building the container so any retailer could put their loyalty points into the PayPal wallet,” Mr Donahoe said.“There is a limit to how many cards you will carry, or remembering what points you have or don’t have,” he said. “But in a digital wallet, you can put 50 different loyalty cards.”Mr Donahoe said Ebay was not expanding the PayPal wallet to include Bitcoins, “but we are watching it”.“That same technology could accept other digital currencies,” he said.eBay’s efforts raise the possibility that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin may in time move beyond a niche role in online commerce. Some enthusiasts believe Bitcoin and other currencies that exist outside the traditional banking system represent the future of online payments.The work to expand the PayPal wallet underlines the emergence of virtual payment systems as the latest front in the battle between the global technology giants, including Google and Apple, to increase consumer reliance on their products.Corporate initiatives have sought to drum up interest in digital wallets for use online and on the high street. Companies from mobile and technology groups to banks and retailers are racing to use new mobile wallets to upend the payments business.Most of these efforts have focused on new ways of paying with traditional currencies such as the pound and the dollar, rather than with niche mediums of exchange such as loyalty points or Bitcoin.Bitcoin transactions are conducted through a peer-to-peer network of computers, outside the traditional banking system and largely beyond the control of governments and monetary authorities. The digital currency is accepted by very few retailers at present.Ebay has in recent years sought to bring more large retailers on to its ecommerce platform, which started as an auction side for small traders. Ebay recently teamed up with Argos to allow customers to collect goods from 150 of the British retailer’s stores.The ecommerce group also has a partnership with Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty programme, allowing customers to collect points when they spend money through eBay.Mr Donahoe said that ecommerce had yet to combine the more “utilitarian” nature of shopping online, with the “social experience” of shopping at the mall or on the high street.

There's nothing from preventing sellers accepting Bitcoins is there? People can just use it as their preferred method, though I guess eBay wouldn't be liable for any fraud that occurs from those auctions.

It's becoming obvious that Paypal will just add btc as yet another currency. They've hinted at this for months now.

Why?1. They get to add their 2.9% transaction fee, exorbitant currency exchange fees, and "buyer protection" layer to bitcoin transactions.2. They will then "allow" Ebay sellers to accept bitcoin - but only through Paypal. Just like they no longer allow money-orders or western union.3. This will seriously undermine competitor startups like Bitpay, Coinbase, Ripple, etc. because Paypal will be offering the same services to a much larger user base (albeit with higher fees).

Well BitMit has a escrow service. Dunno if eBay has it, but that is a huge plus.

ebay/paypal doesnt need escrow because of its reversibility. But since pp already implements consumer protection and conflict resolution, adding escrow for bitcoin (or making the payments reversible, even if through fiat) seems pretty darn obvious.

Ive always said paypal and bitcoin are not enemies, but natural allies. Paypal and bitpay would be enemies, well, competitors really, but paypal brings a lot to the table that is really useful for bitcoin and that no one offers yet.

My bold prediction: in 2014 paypal will buy bit-pay and it's tony Gallippi's turn to retire young and rich or start building space rockets and electric cars

Paypal/Ebay are clearly interested in implementing their own crypto currency with additional features to aid consumer adoption, amd then they will use the ubiquity of paypal to push this new currency on users. There is precisely zero chance of Paypal (or any other payment provider) ever accepting Bitcoins.

Why exactly does Ebay need a payment method fewer than one in a thousand people know about? Thus far Bitcoin's main utility is as a medium for speculation, and the price rises reflect the belief of those in the Bitcoin bubble that it is only going to appreciate in value. Of course that never happens, and eventually the speculators realise they are left with a bunch of almost worthless tulip bulbs.

1. This thread is titled "Ebay again talking about Bitcoin" because Ebay is talking about Bitcoin again. Note that it is not titled "Bitcoin again talking about Ebay"

2. There's no way Paypal will ever issue their own "cryptocurrency", there's simply no reason to. Paypal is already it's own virtual currency. Until you cash out, your funds are only entries on Paypal's ledger. They would gladly just ignore bitcoin if they thought they could.

The only benefit of e-bay is how many people use it, other than that it is awful and we don't want it.

thats what people said before we had bitpay and ever since the idea of a bitcoin payment processor doesnt look so silly now.You may also want to ask BFL customers if they think the idea of third party conflict resolution / escrow/reversibility is something they really dont want in the bitcoin realm.Never mind the possibility of being able to purchase bitcoins with a credit card or paypal balance. Just imagine how awful that would be!

The only benefit of e-bay is how many people use it, other than that it is awful and we don't want it.

thats what people said before we had bitpay and ever since the idea of a bitcoin payment processor doesnt look so silly now.You may also want to ask BFL customers if they think the idea of third party conflict resolution / escrow/reversibility is something they really dont want in the bitcoin realm.Never mind the possibility of being able to purchase bitcoins with a credit card or paypal balance. Just imagine how awful that would be!

I think you have me wrong, all of those things are great. Its just Paypal and E-bay do it horribly.

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